1.
[syn: corsair, Barbary pirate]
2. a swift pirate ship (often operating with official sanction);
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Corsair \Cor"sair\ (k?r"s?r), n. [F. corsaire (cf. It. corsare,
corsale, Pr. corsari), LL. corsarius, fr. L. cursus a
running, course, whence Sp. corso cruise, corsa cruise,
coasting voyage, corsear to cruise against the enemy, to
pirate, corsario cruising, a privateer authorized to cruise
against the enemy. See Course.]
1. A pirate; one who cruises about without authorization from
any government, to seize booty on sea or land.
[1913 Webster]
2. A piratical vessel.
[1913 Webster]
Barbary corsairs . . . infested the coast of the
Mediterranean. --Prescott.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Zool.) A Californian market fish (Sebastichthys
rosaceus).
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
corsair
n 1: a pirate along the Barbary Coast [syn: corsair, Barbary
pirate]
2: a swift pirate ship (often operating with official sanction)
The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906):
CORSAIR, n. A politician of the seas.